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tv   [untitled]    September 22, 2012 9:30am-10:00am PDT

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amendments when i walked -- after i walked into the chambers today. so i totally agree that had i received -- you know, had i received this beforehand, i certainly would have said something. but we were handed this, and then we just saw a discussion between the makers of the motion and the puc, and there seems to be a disagreement about whether this is viable. but this amendment could also be presented in probably 30 different forms. and maybe all 30 are completely unviable. maybe some of them are viable, and some of them are not. if we don't continue it, that's fine. i accept that and i respect that. but it seems that for an issue that we're considering of this importance, it would make sense to at least know, for sure, whether this is viable or not viable in any form, rather than having language, and then we're
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scribbling on the paper, sort of the seat of our pants. that was my only point. and the word -- the continuance, i will not take that personally but i am a big believer when you have an issue staring you in the face that over the last number of days has been the main issue being discussed in the public, perhaps the main concern that's being expressed, if there is a way to address it, and to do it in a thoughtful way that works for the puc, then we should see if that's possible. if not, so be it. but that was the only reason, for my making of the motion, and the only reason why i did it here in the board chambers after i received this language. >> president chiu: supervisor chu. >> supervisor chu: thank you. i want to thank the comments. i do support supervisor wiener's motion. and, you know, i think the intention, as we saw today, being able to accept potentially this amendment on the reserves, being able to potentially make amendments to the program that
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would actually strengthen our comfort in making sure that people are choosing a program that they want to be in, i think these are all very legitimate things to do. i think that supervisor farrell has already articulated, we understand that there is limitation -- there are lintations set by state laws, limitations based on not being able to do an opt-in program and that will not change within a week's time. when is important for us to look at and work with our state attorney on is how to strengthen this program, this opt-out component that we have to include in the program such that we make sure people are notified adequately, that they are able to understand fully what risks they are going into, what the rates potentially would look like. this is something that is very crucial in understanding it. i know for one, having parents who were immigrants, having parents who worked all the time people sometimes just miss things, they miss bills that come in the mail, sometimes they miss things through e-mail, they're busy working.
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so really being able to strengthen that component is very important. i think we can benefit from a week's time. i'd like to come to a place where i could support this. so this is -- that's the place that i come from so i hope a week might be able to help us get there. >> president chiu: supervisor olague. >> supervisor olague: yeah. i won't be supporting the motion to continue. i want to be consistent. i know supervisor campos had not been aware this motion would be made. i think it's important to move ahead with this. i'm pretty satisfied with where it's at currently. i'm not at a place where i would be necessarily supportive of many amendments. i think we're at a good place. i'm ready to move forward with it as it is presented to us today. and i believe that with the amendments that supervisors kim and others have introduced, as far as being sensitive to the
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needs of communities who are monolingual, or low income, i think have been addressed through those amendments. so i'm comfortable in moving forward with this today. >> president chiu: supervisor cohen 106r7b8g9s thank you very much. to supervisor chu and maybe possibly other supervisors that are thinking about supporting the continuance, could you share with me what tangible goals, one week is not very much time, what tangible goals will you want to solve, what questions are you looking to get answers to? >> i can speak to it. i am not suggesting that in a week's time we're going to come to a comprise that we will all agree with but i think we can benefit from a conversation more in detail and in depth with the city attorney to really understand given that we have an opt-out requirement by the state, what is the limitation that we can push to make sure that we have something that
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markets aggressively, make sure that we don't have people who are registered for the program. that is something that would be had in terms of a conversation over the next week. i think it also provides opportunity to clean up some of the language. i absolutely accept responsibility that a lot of the amendments were on the sly, so i think it provides us with an opportunity to clean up some of that and make sure we're not inadvertently putting something forward, amendments put trd that don't make sense. again, it is not an indefinite continuance, we're not saying send it back to committee and we'll never look at it again. we're saying one week and take a vote either way. >> i have a question for the city attorney. given some of the comments that you heard as to reasons why we should have a continuance can you offer some kind of opinion, or advice, some thought, as to is there any more insight that
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you can give us to this matter? i mean specifically an opt-in-opt-out. >> if we can hear from the city attorney's office, i don't know if that's mr. gib mer -- >> deputy city attorney. i don't think i can answer that question. i don't think either of us can. of course, if supervisors have additional questions or ideas, and they would like legal advice on those questions or ideas, we're always available to discuss. but i'm not sure i can offer something right now, to answer the questions you're asking. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. the reason i asked the city attorney's office because i'm sure those who have questions would be going to the city attorney's office. so just curious. i don't know what question hasn't been asked already. although i do understand the need to clean up legislation. is there another way -- or to clean up the language, excuse me, to the legislation. if we vote on this today, and
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would there be opportunity to clean up legislation -- clean up the language to the legislation or we have to vote on it as is? madam clerk, i'm asking you. >> >> president chiu: is that a question for our clerk? >> supervisor cohen: yes. >> clerk calvillo: supervisor cohen you could vote on this idea today. you could always bring another ordinance in its place to correct the language. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. that answers my question. >> president chiu: thank you. president chiu. >> president chiu: colleagues, having thought about it and thought about the issue of potential continuance over the last few days, i am not prepared to support the continuance for a couple of reasons. first of all, we know that this issue has been in the works not just for months, but for years. and this question we're talking about has been a fundamental issue within this discussion. it has been frankly a little surprising to me that the issue has come up at the last moment.
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i know we have colleagues and members of the administration that have had questions vis-a-vis the city attorney's office. i hoped we would be able to -- beforehand but i not heard any articulation about information that we are going to learn over the next week that ought to change our minds on this. and i think that there is a majority of this body that is prepared to move forward with this today. that being said, let me state that if there are any new pieces of information between the first reading and the second reading, i think we will always be open to hearing about things. and if there are things that are superior to the program that might be voted on today after we vote on the amendments, you know, we do have at least a week before this matter leaves our hands. so this is not in any way i think foreclosing those discussions, but i think in it the spirit of moving this forward, given all the discussion that has happened, i will not be supporting the motion to continue today.
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>> supervisor wiener. >> supervisor wiener: thank you, mr. chairman. just so folks don't think that any of us are sort of log gagging around, for many, many months, i have received a very, very consistent message from everyone who i've ever spoken to about this. the advocates in favor, people against, the puc, that you have to do an opt-out, and an opt-in is not permissible, period. and that's all i ever heard. and so we were evaluating this, or at least i was, do we want to do this, given that state law restricts us from having anything other than an opt out. late last night, and then this morning, was the very first time that i was ever even informed by anyone that, wait, we might actually have the possibility of doing this preopt in, or
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whatever you want to call it, that that is actually legal. that had not been conveyed to me before then. so -- and then received the language, walked into the board chambers. so i want to be clear this is not a situation where there's been something known, dangling out there six or nine months and then someone perks up in board chambers. in terms of how i learned about it that's how i learned about it. and again if people don't want to continue it, i totally respect that. but for the reasons i stated before, that's why i made the motion. >> supervisor campos. any further discussion? why don't we take a roll call vote on the motion to continue. >> clerk calvillo: that's one week to september 25. >> president chiu: that is correct. motion to continue to the 25th, yes. >> clerk calvillo: president chiu, no. supervisor chu, aye.
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supervisor cohen, no. supervisor elsbernd, aye. supervisor farrell, aye. supervisor kim, no. supervisor mar, no. supervisor olague, no. supervisor wiener, aye. supervisor avalos, no. supervisor campos, no. >> clerk calvillo: there are four ayes and seven nos. >> president chiu: motion to continue fails. and unless there's any discussion, why don't we -- supervisor wiener. >> supervisor wiener: i just wanted to state that in terms of what appears to be just the only dispute is in the first two, the third amendment, plus supervisor kim's amendment appear to be uncontroversial, in terms of the disputed amendments, i will not be supporting them because i do not believe that i have enough information to -- given how quickly this has all unfolded to know whether this is something that is possible to implement.
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it might be but i just don't know and i don't feel comfortable voting for an amendment where i don't know if it's feasible or if it's a poison pill. >> president chiu: any further discussion, colleagues? so why don't we take the amendments in the order they were made. first were amendments made by supervisor kim and with the technical changes of spelling the word through correctly, and the wording change in the final paragraph to ensure that that pursuant to its authority under charter section 8b125 the board will consider rejecting rates that do not -- the policies made in the resolution. take a roll call vote. >> clerk calvillo: president chiu, aye. supervisor chu, aye. supervisor cohen, aye. supervisor elsbernd, aye. supervisor farrell, aye. supervisor kim, aye. supervisor mar, aye. supervisor olague, aye. supervisor wiener, aye. supervisor avalos, aye.
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supervisor campos, aye. >> clerk calvillo: there are 11 ayes. >> president chiu: the amendment passes and now with regards to supervisor chu's amendment if we could take a roll call vote on the first two amendments, which are to amend pages 5 and pages 16 of the resolutions as they've been described in the materials circulated. madam clerk, could you call the roll. >> clerk calvillo: president chiu, no. supervisor chu, aye. supervisor cohen, no. supervisor elsbernd, aye. supervisor farrell, aye. supervisor kim, no. supervisor mar, no. supervisor olague, no. supervisor wiener, no. supervisor avalos, no. supervisor campos, no. >> clerk calvillo: there are three ayes and eight nos. >> president chiu: that amendment fails. with regards to supervisor chu's second amendment of the ordinance of section 3 in the resolution at page 9 stating the
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puc will recommend the inclusion in clean power sf rates a component to begin recovering reserves required for this program, et cetera, roll call vote. >> clerk calvillo: president chiu, aye. supervisor chu, aye. supervisor cohen, aye. supervisor elsbernd, aye. supervisor farrell, aye. supervisor kim, no. supervisor mar, aye. supervisor olague, no. supervisor wiener, aye. supervisor avalos, no. supervisor campos, aye. >> clerk calvillo: there are eight ayes and three nos. >> president chiu: the motion to amend passes. now discussion on the vote on the underlying items as amended. supervisor farrell. >> supervisor farrell: thank you, president chiu. colleagues, i respect everyone's decisions. with that however i'm not going to be supporting the underlying items, but what i would like to do, the one thing i want to make clear is again, as mentioned
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before, everyone supports our green economy in san francisco and any job creating measures to that effect are something i want to support so i'd like to divide the file for item 16, the $6 million going to fund go solar sf to energy efficiency initiates as well as the study of the local build-out i would like to separate those items out and have a roll call on those items separately. >> president chiu: okay. why don't we first take a vote on the $6 million program items that supervisor farrell would like to sever out. if we could take a roll call vote on those items. >> clerk calvillo: president chiu, aye. supervisor chu, aye. supervisor cohen, aye. supervisor elsbernd, aye. supervisor farrell, aye. supervisor kim, aye. supervisor mar, aye. supervisor olague, aye. supervisor wiener, aye. supervisor avalos, aye. supervisor campos, aye.
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>> clerk calvillo: there are 11 ayes. >> president chiu: that portion of item 16 passes. and now on the balance of the item 16 and 17, collectively, is there any discussion? supervisor wiener. >> supervisor wiener: thank you, mr. chair. i am going to be voting in favor of cca today. i had been hoping that we could add some additional language about the opting in versus opting out. unfortunately, as we discussed before, that didn't happen. i will be completely candid. i struggled mightily with this contract. in the past, i have been expressed public support of cca, and have always indicated that it would depend on the contract. i very, very meticulously and carefully evaluated this contract. i believe that competition is a
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good thing. i know that pg&e has talked about wanting to offer their own alternative. and i think that's a good thing. and i look forward to that competition. i believe that this is a wise investment. we will be investing funds from puc power enterprise. i think that that investment is capped. i believe the city's exposure under this contract is quite limited, and what we do have an opportunity to do here is to move forward with clean energy. i've looked carefully at what's happened in marin and spoken with two members of the county board of supervisors, one who voted in favor of their cca, one who voted against it. the one who voted against it is now strongly in favor of it. that program has succeeded. of course like every new program, especially the first of
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its kind, there were bumps in the road. but it has succeeded to the point that other cities are opting in, even cities from outside of the county. i also just want to note that over the years, this board has given repeated direction to the puc to move afford with this. and a few years ago, the puc was considering a proposal that was not particularly strong, and it was set aside. staff has now come forward, and the puc has now come forward with a proposal that i believe everyone, even those who do not support, will say is better, significantly better than the last one. this will provide competition. it will provide a choice for consumers. i struggled with the opt out issue. and i wish that there were a better way. i wish that we could have some
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sort of workable opt-in. i thought about potentially voting against this because we didn't have the extra time to figure that out. but on balance, i think that consumers will have a choice. there will be ample opportunity for people to opt out. and for those who, for whatever reason, don't and then decided they want to opt out there will be a very, very modest fee and it will be easy to opt out of the program. this is something that i believe we should try. if i thought this was going to be a terrible train wreck, i wouldn't be supporting it. i think that there is a good chance that this is going to be successful, and there is a decent chance that it's going to be extremely successful, and that it will move the dial in san francisco in terms of our commitment to clean energy and to renewables. so, colleagues, i will be supporting this today. >> president chiu: supervisor campos. >> supervisor campos: i won't repeat the points made. i want to first thank my
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colleagues who will be voting for this today. i want to thank you for your support, for your thoughtfulness and for how you are willing to take us down a historic path i also want to talk to colleagues who have raised concerns who will not be supporting this program. i want to say to my colleagues that i understand your concerns and that even though you will not be voting for this today, i do want to work with each one of you to make sure that the concerns that you have raised, to the extent that we possibly can, that we address those concerns. and so i want to thank my colleagues for that. and the last thing, mr. harrington, i think this is a good way of ending what has been a pretty incredible tenure here at the city and county of san francisco, and i am just very honored to be a part of it. >> president chiu: supervisor chu. >> supervisor chu: i want to thank supervisor campos for your comments and look forward to
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working with you on strengthening notification to residents and making sure people understand what they're getting into. also want to thank the board for the amendment on the reserve. i think that is an important step. >> president chiu: any final discussion? take a roll call vote on the balance of item 16 and 17. >> clerk calvillo: as amended, president chiu, aye. supervisor chu, no. supervisor cohen, aye. supervisor elsbernd, no. supervisor farrell, no. supervisor kim, aye. supervisor mar, aye. supervisor olague, aye. supervisor wiener, aye. supervisor avalos, aye. supervisor campos, aye. >> the clerk: there are eight ayes and three nos. >> supervisor chiu: this ordinance passed on the first reading and resolution adopted.
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-6r7b8g9sdz i have a 3:30 -- related to the last item. mr. harrington, i don't know if you know what is coming down but i have a resolutio that is spony all members of the board to thank you in your final week before you leave city government. it is a resolution that commends you as our puc general manager and form he city controller for 28 years distinguished service to the city. ed, i know a lot of our colleagues will say these comments to you privately and publicly, but we have a lot of city employees who are extremely hard working, we have a lot of city employees who are incredibly smart and innovative and support the very best of integrity and doing what is in the best interest of the city. i think it is fair to say that's certainly for me and all of my colleagues you have exemplified
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the best of all of those qualities, as you have your handshaken for today's accomplishment of what you've been able to do over the last 28 years. i'm not going to read the entire resolution but i want to summarize for the public that after you served our city with honor, distinction as our city controller, during your tenure as the general manager of the puc, you use your exceptional financial management skills, your extensive knowledge of city operations, your outstanding leadership and commitment to community improvement to guide the puc through a period of unprecedented success across our water, wastewater and power enterprises. you led our puc to become the first utility in the nation to establish a community benefits policy, an environmental justice policy, obviously today you are leading our city in helping to move forward our clean power sf program. you led the transition to a more sustainable headquarters at 525 golden gate avenue which is considered one of the greenest
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buildings in north america, representing a significant long-term investment in san francisco's environmental and economic future. and i just want to say from my perspective, i am going to miss you. i think everyone in this room is going to miss you. i hope you will visit often, although i have a feeling after all the work you've done over the last couple of months, at the end of this week you deserve a significant vacation. but i just want to thank you for that service, and congratulations. >> [applause.]
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>> president chiu: supervisor, we have a lot of supervisor on the roster who want to speak again. supervisor kim. >> supervisor kim: i knew we would be doing this again at the full board and i spoke at the budget committee. in large part my support for this complicated policy measure came because i knew this was your leadership and you had spent so many years working on this issue to make it the best proposal that came before the city and county of san francisco. although i've only got to work with you for a brief period of time your reputation really precedes you and it becomes so clear the moment that anyone sits down with you. your high level of ethical standards, your intelligence and thoughtfulness. you're really a super star department head. we have been lucky to have you. being a part of this city family for so many years. but beyond that, i think beyond the thoughtfulness and
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intelligence what has impressed me more is your heart. oftentimes i encounter a lot of intelligent folks, but they don't always get the community, they don't get the human and personal aspect. i think the puc has been a leader in doing a lot of work in our communities to create jobs in our most low income communities, providing a lot of different funding, a lot of different types of programs, that really benefit our most disadvantaged residents. you know the puc doesn't have to do that but you have made it a part of your mandate and i think that's happened under your leadership. i am so impressed by the staff and team you have at the puc but that's a testament to the leadership as well. your staff gives so much not just to the city but i've seen all of the amazing charitable work they do throughout the world to promote water policy and equity. so i just want to thank you, and also congratulate you on this well-deserved retirement. >> [applause.] >> president chiu: supervisor
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avalos. >> supervisor avalos: thank you, president. ed, when i think of all the people who have helped my growth here at city hall, i think of you as one of the persons who has had a tremendous impact on my career here in politics, and on the board of supervisors, as a legislative aide before that. and i know that that's actually something that many people, who have worked with you, whether directly under you, or around city hall, have experienced. i mean you have a -- the room is packed with folks whom you've worked with over the years with the controller's office and with the puc. the respect people have for you and your work is tremendous. and the impact you've had on this city is astounding. i just want to congratulate you and all this work, and what you've done to make me a better public servant and the other people you work with have become better public servants as well because of your influence and your impact. and you know, i want to thank
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you for the times that you've actually -- the many times that you've thought outside the box. i can think of two times if the past few years that were significant. one was your work around the local hire ordinance that i was working on, with colleagues here, and people in the community. your department and your leadership was tremendous torques make sure that that could be successful. of course cca, clean power sf, and your determination to make this happen, your preparation last week was spot on, and i will never forget your discussion about tomatoes and the local economy. thank you so much for all your great work, and, you know, i look forward to seeing what you do next. >> [applause.] >> president chiu: supervisor chu. >> supervisor chu: thank you. i just want to congratulate you, ed, on your retirement. i think it's the city's big loss that you're going to be leaving us. i know you're not far but still it's going to be a big change.
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i have a tremendous amount of respect for the work that you've done and the way that you conduct yourself. and i think that is probably something that is shared throughout the chambers and in the city. and i think that's not something that is easy with so many years, you know, someone who has been able to command that respect and that integrity through the years. so i think probably the best complement i can give you is the fact that as a public servant, i aspire to be like an ed harrington. thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all that you've done. >> [applause.] >> president chiu: supervisor cohen. >> supervisor cohen: well, mr. harrington, congratulations. you've made it. you're like crossing over the finish line with a victory. that's not bad. i just wan wanted to say congratulations to you. i'm very excited for you and your new endeavor. i'm not politicking but i'm just saying that ed will have some time on his